


Cross-Border

by Alabaster86



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 05:18:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6106123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alabaster86/pseuds/Alabaster86
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble written for the prompt 'mercy'; Song and her mother happen upon a wounded Fire Nation soldier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cross-Border

They found him in a field. He must have crawled for some way before he collapsed. Song and her mother could tell from the way the long grass had been crushed. His torn uniform was red, but the dried blood and the fresher stuff too, showed up well enough.

He was young, maybe twenty, and barely coherent. But the fear in his eyes, the pain, and the dismay at being discovered by two Earth Kingdom women, were all evident.

“What should we do, Mother?”

Song’s instincts were to heal the sick and the wounded. And if healing was not possible, to bring comfort and ease suffering until the inevitable occurred. She had seen terrible things and she had seen her share of death and she could deal with each. But Song was not cold and she felt the agony of her patients as if it were her own.

The older woman’s answer was written on her face, etched deeply into each line. Their village, raided more than once, would not tolerate aiding the enemy in any capacity.

“We can’t just leave him here, like some animal. We could take off his uniform. No one would know that he’s Fire Nation.”

Song’s mother sighed and touched a hand to the girl’s arm. She pulled out a pouch then, filled with vials, each containing a different mixture.

“I’ll hold him down while you rub some along his gums.”

Song took the jar her mother handed her. She stared at the label and then into the soldier’s eyes. He guessed what was happening and began a desperate attempt at escape. But all he could do was flop about like some broken doll. Feeble sparks emerged from his fingertips.

Grabbing hold of his shoulders, Song’s mother kept him still. It didn’t take much. The man’s life ebbed away with every slow beat of his heart. Song pried his mouth open and rubbed the paste onto the man’s gums. She half wondered if he would bite, but he lacked the energy and the inclination.

“It will be over soon,” she whispered kindly. “I wish we could have done more.”

As he slipped away, Song expected to see gratitude in his eyes, or peace at least. But all she saw was hate.


End file.
